ApocalypseGrrl

Revelation or Devastation?

  • She/Her

Avatar: Space Cuties by gabbydarienzo (Picrew)

Disabled. Artist. Writer. Snark-machine. Tea enthusiast. Avid napper. All-around wastrel.


aliothfox
@aliothfox

So I saw a comment on a Furaffinity journal this morning that yet again made a bunch of inaccurate claims about what does and doesn't count as copyright infringement. It's a lot of the same (wrong) claims I see all the time, so I thought I'd take advantage of Cohost's long form to make a post about copyright myths and facts. One disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. What I'm saying here is the result of several years of meticulous research on my part, but I am not qualified to give legal advice.

Myth 1: It's not copyright infringement unless I'm profiting off of it. Fact: Copyright infringement claims are about your liability to the original owner of the intellectual property you're using. It is possible for you to make no money off of what you created from someone else's IP and still be liable for infringement. The reverse is also true: in some cases, you can make money off of someone else's IP and not be liable. While profit may influence your liability, it's not the sole factor that determines whether you're guilty of infringement or not (in fact, there is no single factor that does).

Myth 2: Most companies don't waste time going after people who make fan art. Fact: Companies routinely "go after" creators of fan work. You just don't hear about it much because fan art is almost always copyright infringement, so the overwhelming majority of those cases usually end without ever going to court. Usually, it's as simple as the copyright owner (Disney or Nintendo, for instance) submitting a DMCA notice to the website hosting the fan work (DeviantArt or FurAffinity, for example), and the host site removes the fan art in question. On the occasion that a creator decides to fight it, they get a lawyer, who immediately tells them "Sorry, you don't have a case." Some higher-profile cases do make it to court (the Harry Potter Lexicon case, for instance), but even then, they usually lose. Nintendo forced a well-made Legend of Zelda fan movie offline. Paramount kneecapped a fan-made Star Trek project. If you think you're safe because you're working in a franchise that has a lot of existing fan art, you're not.

Myth 3: Aha! But if I call it parody or research and claim "Fair Use," they can't touch it! Fact: The Fair Use Doctrine is not a magic bullet against copyright infringement liability. First of all, Fair Use is not a denial of infringement. If you bring Fair Use as your defense in a copyright case, you are essentially saying "Yes, I am infringing on the owner's copyright, but I should be allowed to in this case." Criticism, parody, education, research, and so forth are part of the nature of the work, but the nature of the work is only one of MANY factors considered in a Fair Use case. In other words, "it's a parody/criticism/etc." is the bare minimum point of entry to even claim Fair Use, not a guarantee that you're win a Fair Use case.

In Summary: Almost all fan art is technically copyright infringement. It is allowed to exist purely at the sufferance of the companies who own the franchises. Some companies are more tolerant than others (some even have creation resources for fan works!), but that is purely up to them. Companies have little to gain by prosecuting their own fans, but that doesn't mean that they can't or won't. We can have a whole talk about the nature of copyright law and needed reforms and whatnot, but that's a separate discussion. This is more just addressing how things currently stand without attempting to cast any "good" or "bad" judgment on that status quo one way or the other.



aliothfox
@aliothfox

Please don't give up on this site! I know it's taking the staff a long time to work down that activation queue, and it can be discouraging when it doesn't feel like it's moving. But here's just a few things to keep in mind:

  • Cohost has only three full-time staff members. I believe they're in the process of hiring more, but they never meant for this place to be a "Twitter lifeboat," so they're probably pretty overwhelmed just keeping the site up and running, let alone having any time to activate a lot of new accounts every day.
  • It's Thanksgiving week in the US. Things are probably moving slowly right now because holidays always put a bigger strain on websites (because more people are off work and able to be online). (Edit: it's not Thanksgiving anymore but things are still busy)
  • You can still participate on the site before you're activated. You can't post comments or make new pages, but you can still read people's posts, you can still share/reblog what other people are posting, you can still like posts, and you can still follow accounts. If you're coming from Twitter and still waiting to be activated, try finding some of the folks you follow(ed) on Twitter in the meantime.
  • As the influx of new users reaches an equilibrium, the process will stabilize. It may take a while, and it may feel frustrating that you're not able to join the conversations, but this stage of the game isn't going to last forever.
  • This site operates on a "no crunch" philosophy. The limited staff aren't putting in crazy overtime hours on weekends and late at night. This site has a relaxed atmosphere. Things don't move as fast here as they do on Twitter. The staff get to enjoy that relaxed atmosphere too, and that is ultimately good for the site, even if that means things move a little slower.
  • The wait will be worth it. This site has so much promise. Interaction is different here than it is on Twitter; the pace is a little slower, the posts usually a lot more thoughtful. The site is improving, and you're coming in close to the "ground floor." You'll get to watch this site grow up - and take part in that. Stay patient - that number will get to zero sooner or later, even if not as quickly as you'd like, and then you'll be part of the fun.

shel
@shel

I wanna add:

Staff aren't working at all during holidays. they keep a very strict work-life balance. No working weekends, no working holidays, no working in the middle of the night. They're trying to prevent burnout and keep things sustainable, which is also why there's an action queue, allows them to ensure the site can handle more posts and won't get overloaded.

The activation queue contributes to the good culture here. Having to take some time and lurk before you post for yourself is a great way to learn the social norms on here. It used to be an old Internet adage to lurk in any community for a while before you start posting. Think of it like that. You get to let yourself be a fly on the wall and learn the lay of the land.